Pro Tips for Being an Entrepreneur
Original Publish Date: 4/23/23
When I wanted to become a nutritional therapist, I never realized I had to become an entrepreneur. My parents and brother all are successful entrepreneurs in their respective businesses so I guess it’s not too far off left field.
I shared my experience as a service provider for the wellness community at the KetoCon Entrepreneurial Mastermind. Several people came up to me asking about changing careers. I get it. I was scared too.
We were asked about pricing and work/life balance. We were asked about the years it took before the business became successful. I’ve worked with too many clients to know what these questions are ultimately getting at: people want to know the exact steps (and for how long) so they have the assurance they are marching in the direction towards success.
But there is no answer.
Entreprenuer Spotlight
Robert Sikes, the Keto Savage (the Keto Brick), is a well-respected entrepreneur and athlete in the ketogenic space. Sylwia Tabor of Carnivore Snax and Phillip Meece of The Carnivore Bar are all successful entrepreneurs. These three companies all shared their journies and ultimately, it’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. It’s getting up in the middle of the night to fix something that is broken. It’s not sleeping because one client is really unwell and you aren’t sure if they’ll make it another year.
Listen to the NwJ podcast with Robert Sikes here or on YouTube. You can watch a short clip of the interview here.
The entrepreneurial path is not easy and there is no secret sauce. You can emulate people that came before you but you have to find your niche or calling. You have to lean into the strengths that God gave you. And then work to refine these gifts and talents.
Tips for Entrepreneurs
While there is no specific roadmap to a successful business, here’s what I can recommend for any product or service:
Figure Out Your Pricing
People say to price yourself based on your worth. But how do you know what that is? I like to get really tactical with business so here’s where I’d start. How much do you want to make a year? How many clients can you take a day or week? Figure out how much your hourly rate is from there. Do you want to charge $500 for 1 customer or $100 for 5 customers? If it’s difficult to get 5 customers compared to one, you better have a solid product or service.
You don’t want to undercharge because if you get burned out then you can’t even offer the product or service to anyone. And that is a lose-lose for everyone.
Without a goal, you won’t know where you are headed.
Quality Products and Service
I do not believe in just pricing yourself at market or above market for no substantial reason. Your product or service has to be good. What are your differentiators? What makes you stand out? What’s the story? Why do I want to buy from you? Carnivore Snax and Carnivore Bar needed their products or Sylwia and Phillip can get really sick. Robert needed Keto Bricks for competition. What’s your story?
A service is good when you fulfill the need that you are promising to deliver. This is personally why I like getting to root-cause healing. If I’m ultimately a healer, I better know how to heal or share the route to help my clients and patients heal. Sometimes I need to figure out if it’s healing the mind, body, or soul. Oftentimes, it’s all three.
You do not want to sell something subpar as you will lose customers over time. That’s a bad place to be. Think long-term. Under-promise and over-deliver. You want your customers to trust that whatever you put out in the world is good. If they earn that trust and you deliver what you promised, they will naturally rave about you. This is why branding is more important than marketing. And make it authentic.
Just like we want to represent ourselves as Christians or Carnivores. Your business needs to be a reflection of your values and goals. A company always needs a mission statement and core values that are ultimately guiding you as a north star. (see NwJ’s below)
Good People
If you grow, you will inevitably have to hire good people. This is difficult for me but I have learned to let go and trust others to help build our dreams of NwJ. If I want to help change the world, then I need people alongside me. People focus so much on acquiring customers but never think about the importance of hiring and retaining good people. A lot of effort needs to be put into your teams as much as your customer acquisition processes.
Work Hard and Love What You Do
Being an entrepreneur is hard. You have to steer a ship that may have many depending on you. You have to make sure the product or service is right each time. You become a firefighter, taking out little fires as you grow as a company.
But you cannot do it long term if you hate the work or the business. I have so many clients who are very wealthy but hate their work. Yes, it pays the nice bills but if you aren’t happy with what you do, you will pay for it in the long run. I had a very well-paying job before NwJ. My mental health paid for it. It was a golden handcuff job and I’m so glad I finally got myself out of the rat race. The money was good but my heart was empty.
Don’t Act With Emotions (Fear or Jealousy)
In all things in life, you cannot approach it with fear or jealousy. A lot of our thoughts can facilitate our reality. If you’re always scared you won’t make enough money or jealous that friend Jane Doe is doing better on social media or with clients, that’s a negative mindset.
When you focus on the negative, you are bringing that energy to you. This is why the company you keep and its mindset is also something strongly to consider. Celebrate other people’s successes (or at least don’t hate on them) and fight for more each day.
Fear is debilitating and jealousy is imprisoning. It’s a dark place to be and no one wins with these emotions. Never lead with fear. Lead with courage instead.
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If you want to read our article on nutritional therapy schools, you can read it here. You don’t need 500 certifications to get started. You just need to get started.
In health,
Judy
